Five things to know about Buffalo State's Great Lakes Center

Buffalo State University's Great Lakes Center (GLC) serves as a bridge between campus and community, preparing students for meaningful careers while supporting the Western New York region through research, partnerships, and resources.

GLC is an institute of researchers and educators dedicated to investigating the ecology of the Great Lakes, their tributaries, and the landscape around them. The Center is staffed by full-time research scientists and technicians, as well as professors in Buffalo State's Biology Department. GLC is comprised of lab facilities on the main campus, a fleet of research vessels, and a waterfront field station four miles south of Buffalo State's main campus. This field station provides easy access to Lake Erie, the Buffalo and Niagara River, and their tributaries.

"Water unites us all," said Christopher Pennuto, interim director of the Great Lakes Center. "Here in the GLC, we try to understand how the landscape, urban environments, climate, or policy decisions interact with and influence the physical, biological, and chemical conditions of this immense water system."

Here are five things to know about the Great Lakes Center:

It is a multi-use research, education, and training venue
The Great Lakes Center offers course support for faculty and students in any discipline. Photography courses have used the field station and waterfront to support class sessions. The Biology Department and the graduate program in Great Lakes Environmental Science offer opportunities for hands-on learning aboard research vessels on Lake Erie and adjacent rivers. Anthropology students engage in occasional summer digs and activities on the grounds. Departments from across the campus take advantage of the Dick Smith Outdoor Classroom, a three-season facility with a clear view of the Niagara River.

Other campus partners also make use of field station facilities. Buffalo State's Small Business Development Center has hosted multiple events on field station grounds and in the Dick Smith Outdoor Classroom. The New York State Master Teacher's Program Western New York chapter-for which Buffalo State is the host campus-collaborates with GLC personnel to educate NYS master teachers about contemporary issues and research in the Great Lakes. GLC provides master teachers with basic training in fisheries, macroinvertebrates, and zooplankton collections through four-day summer workshops.

GLC also offers educational opportunities for the community. This past summer, the Westside Rowing Club summer camp brought attendees to the field station once a week for tours and educational activities. GLC also hosted a crayfish identification and monitoring workshop for natural resource managers and conservation professionals from across New York and neighboring states.

"We are always looking for new ways to connect with campus and the community," said Brian Haas, field station manager. "We enjoy interdisciplinary collaboration."

GLC staff engage in year-round research
GLC is involved in numerous research projects focusing on the ecology and ecosystems of the Great Lakes and their tributaries. GLC research scientists and their collaborators bring together diverse expertise to provide policymakers with information and, in turn, promote more informed decision-making about water quality protection, conserving native species, managing nuisance species, monitoring carcinogens in the food web, and more. Research also contributes to scientific understanding of the interactions that occur in aquatic ecosystems around the world.

Each summer, scientists from GLC embark on the Lake Guardian, the largest research vessel of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Alexander Y. Karatayev and Lyubov Burlakova, both GLC senior research scientists, are part of the Great Lakes Monitoring Program. They collaborate with researchers at Cornell University to assess the condition of benthic organism and zooplankton communities by surveying 57 locations across the five Great Lakes and complete a more detailed survey on each lake every five years. This data is critically important for analyzing the current state and long-term changes in water quality and the fish food base; it provides managers with biological data to support informed decision-making, as well as serves as the basis for individual lake and State of the Great Lakes reports.

Research within the GLC field station allows experiments to be conducted in a controlled environment. The station has a large culture lab with 16 insulated, 200-gallon tanks that provide scientists with conditions suitable for fish rearing and diet studies. Another wet lab holds smaller tanks for experiments on single specimens, allows culturing of small organisms, or is used for behavioral experiments. The station also includes general lab space for sample processing, sorting, and microscopy, a small lab for chemical analyses, and a small meeting space. GLC personnel even adapt the grounds for temporary experiments needing outdoor stream or pond mesocosms. A fleet of research vessels allows GLC scientists to access large and small lakes to address research needs in fisheries, water quality, benthic conditions, climate impacts, and more.

"Research is at the heart of our operations and training here," Pennuto said. "Through our research, we assist resource managers in conservation efforts and provide excellent training opportunities for our students, but mostly, we are just passionate about our work."

GLC is part of the Great Lakes Observing System (GLOS)
The Great Lakes Center has operated and maintained a weather/data buoy six nautical miles NNW of Dunkirk, New York, for the past decade. This buoy is part of the GLOS network, which focuses on ecosystem health, climate resiliency, maritime operations, and public health and safety. The Dunkirk buoy provides real time data on wave height and weather conditions, as well as water quality and temperature profiles. This data is accessible to resource managers and the public alike through a user-friendly, cloud-based application called Seagull that aggregates data from the GLOS buoys. The goal is to collect and deliver valuable information to a diverse group of users to facilitate informed decision-making about the waterfront.

"It is always rewarding to hear from individuals who use the data from the buoy and are very appreciative of the work we do," Haas said. "Many anglers launch out of Dunkirk and express how useful the buoy is to them and thank us for continuing to operate it."

The buoy also archives data related to coastal resiliency, meteorology, and ecological studies, while providing local educational opportunities that can increase environmental awareness and literacy in students of all ages. The GLC recently received new funding to purchase and operate another data/weather buoy just outside of Buffalo.

GLC hosts WNY PRISM
The Western New York Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management (WNY PRISM) works to address invasive species priorities using a coordinated partnership across the eight western counties in New York. WNY PRISM has made great strides over the last decade in protecting the aquatic and terrestrial landscape of western New York through effective invasive species management, engagement of the public in management actions, and increasing awareness of invasive species issues throughout the region. WNY PRISM works with GLC to provide leadership, technical assistance, and opportunities for collaboration with partners.

"Since the office was established in 2014, WNY PRISM has worked with over 200 partner organizations to implement invasive species management projects across the region including educational workshops and outreach, invasive species removal, data collection and habitat restoration," said Andrea Locke, WNY PRISM coordinator. "It has been a joy to see the partnership grow and to see such amazing results."

WNY PRISM coordinates several high profile and priority programs, including a robust early detection and response program, community-science programs like the Hemlock Wooly Adelgid Hunters, spotted lanternfly monitoring, a boot brush station program, and the Crew Assistance Program. The Crew assists regional partners in their invasive species management needs. WNY PRISM also operates a summer Watercraft Inspection Stewardship Program, placing up to 20 boat stewards at regional boat launches. Stewards help educate boaters on invasive species movement prevention while collecting important information for management efforts. To learn more about WNY PRISM or read its annual report, visit the website.

GLC offers two graduate degree options
Buffalo State offers two master's degrees in Great Lakes Environmental Science that prepare students to address ecological challenges within the Great Lakes and surrounding watersheds, and which are applicable to landscapes everywhere. Additionally, there is a 4+1 pathway program that allows senior undergraduate students in geosciences, biology, or chemistry to take graduate courses, giving them valuable time and cost savings.

Alumni of this program have found fulfilling careers across the state and country, including for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, the NY Department of Environmental Protection, Town of Tonawanda Planning Department, and Trout Unlimited, just to name a few.

Alumnus Kyle Glenn, '22, now works for Regional Biologist Trout Unlimited. He said, "The GLC fueled my passion for aquatic ecology and gave me hands-on experience that led to a successful and fulfilling career."

The Great Lakes Center is more than a research institute-it's a resource that connects Buffalo State, its students, and the community to one of the region's greatest natural assets. Through discovery and collaboration, it transforms knowledge into action that benefits both campus and community.

Photos by Jesse Steffan-Colucci, Buffalo State photographer.